Thursday, February 23, 2012

Two little boys are dead after a Sears delivery truck hit them at a west Charlotte intersection Wednesday. Their father was walking them to their day care center, but had to walk on the roadway because there is no sidewalk there. Observer reporters Steve Lyttle and Cleve Wootson report that neighbors said the area is treacherous for pedestrians and needs a sidewalk, and the city transportation department agrees, says spokeswoman Linda Durrett. But it never got done.

The deaths of Kadrien Pendergrass, 5, and Jeremey Brewton, 1, are part of a rash of collisions between vehicles and pedestrians in Charlotte lately. One recent report said Charlotte is the nation's 17th most dangerous city for pedestrians, more dangerous than Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C.

So we want to know, and we want the city to know, where you think are the most dangerous places for pedestrians in Charlotte. It might be an intersection, or it might be a stretch that has a significant number of pedestrians but no sidewalk.

Comment below on areas you think the city should know about, and we'll pass your answers along to the city transportation department. We don't know that that will get things fixed, but it will at least ensure that the city is aware of spots you think are problems.

41
comments:

Anonymous
said...

Metropolitan Avenue and Charlottetowne Avenue. On-street parking runs nearly to the intersection itself, blocking drivers' views of the crosswalks. Plus, the intersection is always congested, and drivers are in a tizzy to make it to Target in time to get back to work before their lunch hour runs out.

Anywhere on 7th street but especially, 7th & north caswell rd. This is a quote "walkable" area yet it is very unkind to the pedestrian. It needs to be fixed to make crossing easier. Also 7th street needs An east boulevard upgrade to slow cars down and give pedestrians places for refuge.

East & South Boulevard, actually anywhere in South End is very unwalkable. South has too fast a speed limit through dense areas of the city. You are taking your life in your hands crossing anywhere on South Boulevard. They need to lower the speed limit add pedestrian refuge etc. through South End.

People are very impatient there during morning and afternoon rush hours. A lot of people turning right onto 5th street and Graham street without looking for pedestrians. A lot of people running red lights on Graham because it gets so backed-up.

Charlotte (as with many newer, Southern cities) was designed with the automobile in mind rather than pedestrians. When you design cities for automobiles, the urban landscape is merely a giant corridor for the most efficient possible movement of automobiles from one parking lot to the other. Pedestrians and cyclists are treated as an afterthought. We must shift our thinking dramatically to design cities where people have the option of not being dependent on cars. Where people can walk, bike, and enjoy green spaces. The Sugar Creek Trail through Midtown leading to Freedom Park is an excellent, albeit imperfect, example.

As an earlier comment stated, Southern cities were built after the intro of automobiles....so good luck. With that being said....South Blvd from I-277 to New Bern Station, The intersection of Park Rd and Marsh Rd, the intersection of Park and Woodlawn and continuing down Park Rd to the intersection of Tyvola. Always see folks at risk in those areas.

Anywhere in the city. Pedestrians seem to think that they can win a battle against a 2 ton vehicle because they sure love to walk along the edge of dangerous roads and cross the streets without looking.

Crossing 7th or 6th uptown where the Light Rail crosses is nearly impossible. There's no light, but there is a crosswalk. There are even signs stating that cars must stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk but NOBODY does. All the city has to do is place a couple of traffic cops at these spots and they'd rake in thousands in fines a day.

Any intersection that makes the pedestrian cross more than four lanes of traffic. Our road builders seem to think more lanes are always better. Our city's quality has dropped with the addition of six+ lane roads.

Sharon & Sharon (Quail Hollow), Turning right onto Sharon from Sharon at the Harris YMCA is very dangerous and drivers constantly ignore the no turn on red sign and cops are never there to enforce it. My son has almost been hit several times because of drivers ignoring the crosswalk and light.

There is no sidewalk on the West side of the Road, although there are two schools on that side of Providence. If you live on the west side of the road, you have to play Frogger to cross the road, walk up to the school, and then play Frogger again to cross at the school.

Some obvious northerner had to mention "southern cities" in reference to being built without rail transportation in mind. We surprise! Surprise!..That applies to "northern cities" as well. The difference is that Charlotte has experienced astronomical growth unlike northern cities and the population has outgrown the infrastructure. Nevertheless, I would love to see pedestrian crossovers or pedestrian subways in vital parts of the city. I believe that Park Rd and Woodlawn, Park Road and Tyvola, and Fairview crossing to Southpark come to mind. Charlotte is working on the problem, but I don't know if the priority is set high enough.

My addition to the comments is Fairview Rd and Park South near Southpark. There are two senior living facilities with people trying to cross that intersection walking or in motorized wheelchairs trying to get to the mall or Sharon Corners. Is it still called Sharon Corners?

I agree with all the comments especially the 7th street comment and actually any place uptown or the entire city now.

The poorly planned infrastructure doesn't just endanger pedestrians. Charlotte motorists can be downright vicious towards cyclists. Let's consider making the city safer for all forms of transportation.

More bike lanes and pedestrian refuges everywhere. Also as mentioned previously South End specifically south boulevard and the ENTIRE 7th street corridor. Finally, plaza midwood needs an upgrade far to often cars are going 15-20 Mph over the speed limit on Central Avenue. Traffic calming and bike lanes need to be added to the area to protect the few hipsters this city has!!!

Well I disagree with a few of these, namely Kings Drive and East Morehead - I used to live on the corner in the yellow house, and there are clear sidewalks and crosswalks with long time limits (I went to sleep with the beeping sounds and the medivac helicopter). This is a safe intersection.

Also, Metroplitan and Charlottetowne Avenue - I cross through this intersection all the time at lunchtime with no problem. They also have adequate sidewalks and crosswalks, frequent light changes to give you a chance to walk, and I haven't seen the "drivers in a tizzy" at all.

South Boulevard already has a low speed limit and actually has a lot of mid-street safe zones for pedestrians and sidewalks running all the way out to 485. The person who left that comment is probably one of the people jaywalking that puts themselves and motorists at risk every day.

These are by far not the "Most dangerous spots for pedestrians". The most dangerous are places with heavy foot and vehicular traffic but no sidewalk, like the place where the two kids died, and other places listed in the comments such as Moss Road and Highway 160 (I've nearly had a wreck coming around that turn right after you turn onto 160 from Tryon several times to avoid some kid walking home or riding his bike from the shopping center.)

South Blvd and East Park Avenue. I'm aware of two people recently struck by cars turning onto South while the pedestrians had the walk signal. Another pedestrian and I were nearly hit this Monday morning when crossing there with the walk signal. If anything, PLEASE begin enforcing the yield to pedestrian-at-crosswalk-with-the-walk-signal law. Taking action after pedestrians are injured/killed is too late.

Belvedere Ave on the Thomas Street side of The Plaza. People speed from the stop light to the end of the road and from to the stop sign to the light. Not sure why they have to go as fast as they can to go less than 1/4 of a mile. Lots of bikes, people walking dogs and children. We have asked for speed bumps, but gotta wait til 2013 or until someone gets killed.

I nearly get killed about once a month lawfully using the crosswalks at 4th and McDowell, right in front of the courthouse. People run the lights and blow through the crosswalks WHEN THE PEDESTRIANS HAVE THEM routinely. I have a number of friends who have been struck there. It is insane to allow right turns on red there, cars make that turn after only looking over their left shoulders to check for oncoming McDowell traffic then plough through the crosswalk without even checking it for pedestrians first. I have a nice little collection of pictures I have taken on my cellphone of carnage there. PS when you jaywalk and tick off a driver who has the right of way, that driver is probably the one who then decides that I must be asking to be hit when I have the crosswalk.

Providence Rd and the Rutledge Ave cut-through to Randolph can be very dangerous for folks walking/jogging/biking across the intersection. Cars making a left turn onto Rutledge are sometimes more focused on the intense Providence Rd traffic going North, and forget to make sure an unsuspecting pedstrian hasn't stepped into the intersection.

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The Observer's editorial board cares deeply about Charlotte and the Carolinas, and has a problem with public officials who have forgotten that they report to citizens. Editorial page editor Taylor Batten and associate editors Peter St. Onge and Eric Frazier tackle politics and public policy issues locally, across the state and nation. Kevin Siers tackles those issues too in cartoons. Read their columns and biographical information on the CharlotteObserver.com Opinion page.